Msi Neo2 Fis2r

Hey all. I set up a system (with no intent to overclock - that has changed now!)

p2.6c
MSI Neo2 Fis2r
512 mb Corsair PC3200 Value Select (1 stick)
SATA WD360 Raptor
ATI 9600 Pro
Antec 350W power supply

I can't get the board to go over 250 mhz fsb. I changed the RAM to DDR 333 but I made no adjustments to any voltages.
Anyone have any ideas as to what I should do? I'm not sure if the board simply won't go over the 250mhz or if - being new to the oc game - I'm not doing something right. It's bios v 1.5. Has anyone been able to go higher than 250mhz?
As a result of this limit I've been thinking about switching to the Asus P4P800....
Also since I'm new to this could anyone shed light on whether or not my components will be losing lifespan at a certain point of oc'ing? From most people that I've talked with they say that as long as it's running stable the components are fine and don't really lose much lifespan.
Thanks for taking the time to read all this. I really appreciate any advice!

i hav the msi neo2 LS basically the same as yours, and i also hav a 2.6c

unfortunately, the board doesnt let you change the mem divider. if your cpu or memory becomes unstable at higher FSBs, put up the voltage a little. for cpu, i would say anything up to 1.6 is DEFINITELY fine, and will almost certainly not destroy your processor. as for how high the board can go, trust me- it can go very high. if i were you, i would keep your neo2, its a great card.
i hav a similar setup to you, but i have corsair XMS pc4000. because my mem is made to run that much higher- i can get up to like 280 FSB, higher when i get watercooling. if turning up the voltages doesnt work, getting pc4000 might help if you can afford it.

Thanks for the advice. I'll post my results in a bit.

Ok. Here are my results:

I was able to run stable (I ran PCMark 2002) at:

257mhz fsb
DDR 333 (pc3200 ram), it goes to 411mhz with the fsb adjustment
and CPU voltage at 1.6 volts.

I didn't mess with the ram voltage but even when I lowered the ram to DDR 266 it still failed if I set the fsb above 257 mhz.
Oh, and DOT is disabled, MAT is set to slow.

Anything else I could do?
Thanks.

First off Prok, welcome to the forum!

You are on the right track. Before you go out and buy the P4P800, I would try just a few other things first.

Try upping the CPU voltage up to 1.65V. This is the highest voltage I would recommend for constant use. Also, up the voltage on the ram as well. If your taking the ram above stock, I would go with 2.7V - 2.8V.

A few questions:

What are your CPU, NB, and MB temps idle and full load?
What kind of colling do you have on the CPU?
What cooling do you have for your case?
What are your mem timings?


RideGuy

Mem timings: 2.5-3-3-8-8

I have 3 vantec stealth fans on the front, 2 stock antec fans on the back, and the psu has a fan directly above the cpu.

I'm using a Volcano 7 on the cpu. I've been putting the fan on high when oc'ing (I think a bit over 5000 rpm) and the temps seem to stay around 39 degrees C at a idle, around 42 at a full load. I haven't really checked the mb or nb temp though, I will do that next. I'll try upping the DDR voltage to what you recommended, but the CPU voltage jumps from 1.6v to 1.7v in the bios so I'm sticking with 1.6

I was wondering if the psu would be a limiting factor at all?

Thanks again everybody.

Replying to my own post...
Anyways.

I bumped the DDR Voltage to both 2.65 and 2.7 - each was able to produce an increase of 1 mhz on the fsb, but I can't go higher than that. It makes no difference when I set the DDR to 266 mhz instead of 333 so I'm thinking it's not the RAM, but maybe the CPU?

CPU temp ranges between 84 and 100 degrees F (idle to full)
Mobo temp stays at about 77 F
NB temp is at about 125 F
Thanks again

You should try and update your BIOS. Befor I updated the most I could get was 143 FSB now Im at 175 and rising rising rising hahahahahaha! 2.4B @3.15 1.6v

That North Bridge temp sounds high! You might want to try and remount the h/f with some thermal grease of some type.

I found with my current set up, when I set my fsb to 270mhz or higher I can't even boot without turning the voltage up to 1.675V. It's totally stable at this speed (4 hours of Sandra) and on the board itself it only reads 1.61V.

Maybe you should try booting with 1.7V, just to see if that's what's holding you back.

Also, have you tried OCing with the Core Centre software? Using Core Centre you can OC and change voltages after you have booted into windows. And it lets you change CPU voltages by .025 increments.


RideGuy

Your current setup being the P4P800?

I remember running across something about the 2.6c's dying at either 1.7V or just too much voltage... How can I make sure that I don't go too high?

By current setup, yes, I mean my P4P800.

I think running your proc at 1.7V for just testing is fine. I think running your 2.6C at 1.7V for an extended period of time could seriously shorten it's life span, but it's hard to say for sure. I guess it's all about how much your willing to gamble


RideGuy

Hey. I took it up to 1.7v and got another 4 mhz from the fsb (up to 262 from 258). Raising it to 1.8 or even 1.9 didn't allow for a higher fsb.